valavsvigaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vala” and “viga” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,196
“vala” frequency rank
#32,021
“viga” frequency rank
48217
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vala viga
Definition escavação em um terreno, de forma alongada e mais ou menos profunda, feita para variados fins, mais frequentemente para condução de águas, drenagem, ou instalação de encanamentos, esgotos etc peça de sustentação horizontal, utilizada em construções; pode ser de madeira, de concreto armado ou de aço

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vala and viga apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
vala
4 ch
viga

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

vala and viga are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vala is recorded at frequency rank #16,196, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈva.lɐ/. viga is at rank #32,021, tagged as anoun.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 48217, this pair ranks #16,983 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vala vs viga

Shared letters: av. Private to "vala": l. Private to "viga": gi.

"vala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "viga" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valaavla · vaal · valla · vlaa · vvala
  • vigaivga · vgia · viag · vigga · vviga

Frequency comparison

vala#16,196
viga#32,021

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vala" and "viga" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "vala" or "viga"?
"vala" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,196 in our Portuguese list, against #32,021 for "viga". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vala vs viga

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vala” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list